We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

In Paris, France, a city brimming with romance and art, a seemingly ordinary manor quietly nestled in a corner.

The manor's exterior was unremarkable, with ancient brick walls covered in lush green vines and a tightly closed iron gate, as if guarding the secrets within.

At that moment, inside a meticulously decorated study within the manor, two men sat around a carved oak desk, intently discussing matters.

One of the men had a Chinese face; his name was Feng Hongda, a professional文物修复师 (cultural relic restorer).

Feng Hongda was tall and handsome, with a look of calm and wisdom in his eyes.

From a young age, he had a strong interest in cultural relic restoration. After years of hard study and practice, he had become well-known in the field.

His hands were long and nimble, as if born to restore those precious cultural relics.

Feng Hongda had a special feeling for cultural relics. He believed that each relic carried historical memories and cultural heritage. Therefore, he always put extra care into restoring them, striving to return them to their original state.

The other man was a foreigner named Henry.

Henry specialized in counterfeiting valuable items, making a living by passing off fakes as genuine. With his superb forging skills and cunning business acumen, he had made a fortune in this illegal field over the years.

Henry's eyes often flashed with slyness, and a faint smile always hung on the corner of his mouth, making it difficult to see through his inner thoughts.

Since the movie 《十二生肖》 (Chinese Zodiac) became a global hit, Henry had keenly seen the huge business opportunities it contained.

With its exciting plot and stunning special effects, the film showcased the legendary story of the bronze heads of the Chinese zodiac animals, attracting widespread attention from audiences around the world.

Henry thought that if he could find a professional antique restorer to cooperate with him in creating a fake bronze head of a zodiac animal and then auction it off, he would surely be able to make a huge fortune.

He understood that the movie 《十二生肖》 (Chinese Zodiac) had been a hit for over a month, and everyone was curious about the whereabouts of the real bronze heads of the Chinese zodiac animals, but they had not been found, and no one knew exactly where these bronze heads were.

Moreover, since no one had seen the real thing, wouldn't it be very likely to fool everyone if the imitation was made to look old?

So, Henry began to figure out how to find a suitable cultural relic restorer to cooperate with.

He used his extensive network of contacts to inquire around and finally learned of Feng Hongda's existence.

Henry learned that Feng Hongda was a highly skilled cultural relic restorer with in-depth knowledge of Chinese cultural relics.

He felt that Feng Hongda was the partner he was looking for.

So, Henry contacted Feng Hongda through various channels and proposed a cooperation.

Feng Hongda was initially very hesitant about Henry's proposal.

He understood that counterfeiting cultural relics was an unethical act and could even violate the law.

However, the conditions offered by Henry were simply too tempting.

Henry promised that as long as Feng Hongda agreed to cooperate, he would be responsible for providing sufficient funds and use his network to take care of matters such as auctions.

The final proceeds would be divided in a 40/60 split, with Feng Hongda receiving 40%.

Under the lure of huge profits, Feng Hongda's heart began to waver.

He thought about how he had worked hard for many years, but had never received the rewards he deserved.

And this cooperation might allow him to become rich overnight and change his life.

After a fierce ideological struggle, Feng Hongda finally agreed to Henry's proposal.

After the two hit it off, they quickly agreed on a plan for division of labor and cooperation.

Feng Hongda was responsible for imitating a horse-head bronze statue, while Henry was responsible for providing funds and using his network for auctions and other matters.

Thus, a vigorous counterfeiting operation began.

However, without a physical object to imitate, what could they do? They had an idea and decided to imitate the zodiac animal bronze heads in the movie.

In particular, the horse-head bronze statue, which was filmed most clearly in the movie, became their first choice for imitation.

Henry did not hesitate to invest a lot of money, buying the most advanced materials and tools, providing a solid material foundation for Feng Hongda's imitation work.

With the support of funds, coupled with Feng Hongda's superb technology, the imitation work progressed very smoothly.

With his deep understanding of cultural relics and superb restoration skills, Feng Hongda carefully studied every detail of the horse-head bronze statue in the movie.

He started with the statue's shape, ornamentation, and color, striving to make it exactly the same as the statue in the movie.

After countless days and nights of effort, they soon imitated a horse-head bronze statue that was almost identical to the one in the movie.

From the outside, this imitation horse-head bronze statue was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Basically, everyone could not see any problems at all.

In particular, foreign antique appraisers who did not know much about Chinese culture found it even more difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

To ensure that nothing went wrong, Henry and Feng Hongda also bribed some Chinese antique appraisers.

Under the temptation of money, these appraisers violated their professional ethics and issued multiple appraisal certificates for this imitation horse-head bronze statue.

With these appraisal certificates, the horse-head bronze statue smoothly entered the famous Drouot Auction House.

The Drouot Auction House is one of the most famous auction houses in France and even the world, bringing together precious cultural relics and works of art from all over the world.

Henry and Feng Hongda chose to send the horse-head bronze statue to the Drouot Auction House because they valued its reputation and influence.

They believed that on this platform, the bronze statue would definitely attract the attention of many buyers, thus auctioning off at an amazing price.

The reason they decided to hold the auction again on July 30 was because they planned to promote it heavily during this time.

Henry used his media resources to promote the auction of the horse-head bronze statue worldwide.

He deliberately created a mysterious atmosphere, making people full of curiosity and anticipation for the bronze statue.

At the same time, Henry also specifically targeted wealthy Chinese tycoons for publicity. He knew that these wealthy Chinese tycoons had a special feeling for Chinese cultural relics and had strong financial strength.

He believed that as long as he could attract the attention of these wealthy Chinese tycoons, the auction price of the horse-head bronze statue would inevitably rise.

With the continuous promotion, the auction of this bronze horse-head statue caused a huge sensation in the Chinese community.

Various media reported on it, and the news spread rapidly, making the auction of this antique a hot topic.

Henry was overjoyed and full of anticipation when he saw that his promotional strategy had achieved such remarkable results.

He seemed to have already seen mountains of money waving at him.

In the study of the manor, Henry and Feng Hongda met again.

Henry's face was full of excitement as he said to Feng Hongda, "Mr. Feng, this bronze horse-head statue, will it really not be identified as a fake by the people who come to the auction?"

Although Henry's tone was full of anticipation, it still revealed a hint of worry.

After all, the amount involved in this counterfeiting operation was huge, and if it was detected, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Feng Hongda replied confidently, "Don't worry, Mr. Henry. Without careful identification, people simply won't be able to tell the difference between the real and the fake just by looking at the age of the bronze statue. I put a lot of effort into making it. Just trust my skills!"

Feng Hongda's eyes were full of confidence, and he was very confident in his imitation techniques.

He knew that in the process of imitating this bronze statue, every detail was handled very well, and even professional文物鉴定师 (wen wu jian ding shi - not translated) would find it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake in a short period of time.

Henry felt a little more at ease after hearing Feng Hongda's reply.

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He nodded and said, "I hope so! I'm really looking forward to it! I heard that the entire Chinese community is going crazy, and the auction of this antique has become a hot topic.

I bought off a lot of media to report on it. This time, I have to make a big profit!"

Henry's eyes flashed with a greedy light, and he couldn't wait to see the results of this auction.

July 25th, 3:30 PM.

Hong Kong, Tseung Kwan O district, a magnificent Su family villa stands quietly.

The villa is surrounded by green trees and has a quiet environment, highlighting the owner's dignity and extraordinary status.

Inside the Su family villa, the decoration is luxurious yet elegant.

In the spacious hall, there are various precious works of art, each exuding a unique charm.

At this time, Su Cheng was leisurely sitting on a recliner in the backyard of the villa, holding a book in his hand, immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

After learning about the upcoming auction of the fake bronze horse-head statue in Paris, Su Cheng was not in a hurry to expose the other party.

He had his own considerations in mind. He decided to wait and see what happened and see how big these people could make this matter.

Although this matter seemed to have no direct relationship with him, from a moral point of view, this kind of counterfeiting behavior should not be tolerated after all.

Moreover, the real bronze horse-head statue was in his home. If he announced it after the auction, he would definitely be condemned by people with ulterior motives, and he naturally did not intend to bear such a bad reputation.

If this auction was allowed to end smoothly, those unsuspecting Chinese tycoons would likely be scammed and suffer huge economic losses.

These counterfeiters used all means to achieve their goals.

By bribing the media in Greater China, they kept reporting the news of the auction of this bronze horse-head statue every day, making the popularity of this matter remain high.

They were naturally very clear that only such continuous publicity could attract many wealthy Chinese businessmen.

Because they understood that this cultural relic was, after all, Chinese, and only these Chinese would show a strong interest in it.

This was also the biggest reason why they heavily advertised and promoted in the Chinese community.

The sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves and sprinkled on the courtyard of the Su family villa, forming patches of light.

Wu Ge walked directly into the villa, wearing a black suit and looking serious.

Seeing Su Cheng sitting on a recliner reading a book, Wu Ge respectfully stepped forward and reported, "Boss, according to reliable sources, several wealthy Chinese businessmen from Hong Kong have taken a plane to Paris, France, including Mr. Li, Mr. He, etc. Obviously, they should be aiming at that fake bronze horse-head statue."

Su Cheng put down the book in his hand, raised his head slightly, and a trace of contemplation flashed in his eyes.

"Oh? It seems that the publicity of these people is indeed very effective!" Su Cheng said with some emotion.

It seems that this group of counterfeiters is really professional. They look like repeat offenders at first glance.

The influence and financial strength of these wealthy Chinese businessmen in the commercial field mean that their actions often attract widespread attention.

Wu Ge continued to analyze, "Many of these businessmen are eager to make a good name for themselves and are keen on doing charity work. I estimate that they plan to auction off this fake bronze horse-head statue and then donate it to relevant departments in order to gain a greater reputation."

Su Cheng nodded slightly after hearing this, with a smile of understanding on his face.

"This is normal. Wasn't I also doing it for fame when I started collecting these animal head statues a few years ago?" Su Cheng laughed.

He frankly admitted his motives, because in this circle, everyone already knew about this kind of behavior.

Reputation is sometimes even more important than money for these wealthy businessmen.

It not only represents social status and recognition, but also brings more opportunities and development space for their business empire.

After pondering for a moment, Su Cheng decided to continue to pay attention to the development of this matter.

He was also very clear that he could not sit idly by and must find a suitable time to expose this counterfeiting incident before the auction.

Even if these wealthy businessmen have ulterior motives and are doing it for fame, at least they are doing good deeds in an aboveboard manner.

If he really let the auction end and those counterfeiters took the money and ran away, and he announced it, then it would be unethical of Su Cheng.

Therefore, next, Su Cheng only needs to wait for the arrival of July 30th.

He is watching a good show.

As long as he announces it before the auction, then the purpose of this gang of counterfeit criminals will naturally not be achieved.

As for those wealthy businessmen, they only spent some money on plane tickets, and there was no loss.

And the higher the popularity of the twelve zodiac animal head statues, the higher the value of the twelve animal head statues he collected!

Therefore, these guys who plan to replace the real with the fake are destined to do useless work.

Instead, it ultimately benefits Su Cheng.

The more people value these cultural relics, the greater the value of his collection! (End of this chapter)